The graduation spirit was in full swing Thursday night at Soldotna Sports Center as the Skyview class of 2006 prepared to make the leap into full-fledged adulthood.

The graduation spirit, in this case, involved the decoration of mortarboards and outfits for fun or entry into the after-graduation party’s contest and milling around the center’s conference room sharing laughs and memories for the students, who hailed from Soldotna, Sterling, Kasilof, Funny River and Cooper Landing.

One of the students involved in the mortarboard decoration was Zac Byford, who wore a self-produced contraption resembling a halo or a basketball hoop  depending on the perspective a viewer would take  covered with Silly String. His project also featured a few stuffed animals dangling from the mortarboard’s edges.

Donna House shows off her beach-themed cap before the graduation ceremony for Skyview High School.

“I was gonna go for a halo just for giggles, because everybody calls me a devil, then I ended up lynching some teddy bears to contrast the angelic thing,” Byford said.

The Soldotna student, who hopes to work on the North Slope then return home to work construction in the months following Thursday’s graduation and after-graduation celebrations, wasn’t particularly moved by the event, however.

“It just means I won’t have to go to school anymore, I guess,” he said.

Another decorator, Soldotna’s Cody Haberman, plans to go to the University of Alaska Anchorage in the fall. His gear included a massive red wig and a pair of pearly-white Adidas sneakers bearing the words “Left” on the left foot, “Right” on the right and “Skyview Class of 2006” on both. For Haberman, graduation felt “good, very good,” but his plans for the fall were negotiable.

“College, Chippendales dancer, you know, whatever,” he remarked to the chuckles of his classmates.

Ami Himmel shows off the "no regrets" theme of her cap.

“Best friends” Michelle Hicks, Amy Arestad, Jerrica Grant and Anna Bonebrake each had similar mortarboard designs with multicolored fabric along the edges. The group’s members weren’t sure if they could enter the after-graduation contest as a foursome, but had a feeling about who might win, anyway.

“Me or Tony,” he said, pointing to a soon-to-be grad with piles of fake $100 bills and miniature Coke cans on his headgear.

“He’s the gangsta’ of the group,” Grant said.

According to Donna House and Ami Himmel, who also call each other best friends, the buoyant mood and goofball demeanor taking precedence outside the center’s auditorium are what separates Skyview students from others in the area.

Himmel said the difference between classes involves the attitude about the goofiness, not how well the students get along.

“We think we’re more mature, so we think it’s OK to goof off, but when a freshman does it, we’re like ‘Oh, that’s not right,’” she said.

Himmel and House, like the others milling about before the ceremony, were joking around, but they touched on a consistent Skyview theme.

Shawn Kalmakoff takes a photo of his friends Victor Hernandez and Aon Phonamart before their graduation ceremony begins Thursday.

Marv St. Clair was preparing to watch his fourth Skyview grad, Collette, walk across the center’s stage Thursday night. St. Clair said Skyview students don’t go to the same grade or middle schools, which keeps the students from forming sometimes insular social groups before arriving at the school.

“That’s exactly it,” St. Clair said when asked about House’s “no cliques” comment. “There’s good kids inside the city of Soldotna, obviously, but these kids have not grown up together since kindergarten, so when they get to Skyview, they meld and become really good friends with new groups. It’s really, really cool.”

Skyview High School class of 2006

Lisa Denali Bethany Anderson

Virginia Dawn Andrus

Amy Rose Arestad

Carissa Ellen Arnold

Timothy Allan Baldwin

Elska Anna Berends

Robert William Berkhahn

Anna Joyce Blake

Crystal Elizabeth Boehmler

Anna Star Bonebrake

Kenneth D. Bouton

Ivinnguaq Brandt

Clark Frank Buffington

Michael James Burlison

Zachery E. Byford

Joshua David Carlon

Ashley C. Carver

Kelli Ann Cassidy

Hugo B. Castro

Danielle Christine Caswell

Joshua Young Cho

Sarah Lynn Clinton

Dustin Trace Coats

William G. Cox

Casper de Lichtenberg

Jeramy William Denner

Jeffrey Matthew Dolifka

Elizabeth Cathleen Dyment

Kyle T. Essert

Gregory Lindal Evans

Allison Marie Fay

Darrel Terry Foister Jr.

Travis M. Gephardt

Anthony Jay Gibson

Kelly M. Girves

Jerrica Suzanne Grant

Michael Irving Grimes

Kenneth H. Guth

Cody James Haberman

Daniel K. E. Hall

Nicholas B. Hann

Richard Paul Efrem Hartman

Shelley Noel Heffner

Devin Crane Henricksen

Victor Manuel Hernandez

Michelle Lynn Hicks

Grant Robert Hill

Amielle Yvonne Himmel

Donna Lisa House

James Peter Iverson

Joseph M. Jackson

Trevor William Johnson

Daniel Allan Jones

Shawn Alex Kalmakoff

SammiJo Lee Kelly

Rebecca Leah Kilfoyle

Nathan Andrew Kincaid

Chad Allen King

Coy Eric Kirby

Jesse Michelle Kloote

Matthew James Klumb

Ronny Ray Krause

Micah S. Kuhl

Mario Samuel Latona

Shantelle Marie Lester

Kristy Ellen Lloyd

Luke S. Magone

Delynda Lea Malatesta

Michael Joseph Martin

John M. Martinusen

Rosa Breanne McDonald

James Gavin McKenna

Ryan A. McMilin

Ryan Anthony Mercier

Wyatt Raymond Merritt

Rachel S. M. Osterman

Charlsee Ann-Drea Parker

Lanny Luke Perrill

Phongsathep Phon-Amart

David E. Powell

Scott Oras Ralston

Cheryl Sue Ramey

John Michael Revis

Travis H. F. Richardson

Joshua J. Roberts

Eric William Rodgers

William Floyd Rodgers

Lucy Marie Ross

Nolan Michael Schmidt

Bryon Adam Schoof

Kelsey LeeAnne Shields

Shannon Rose Sizemore

Amanda Michelle Skinner

Britni Lee Smith

Colette Marie St.Clair

Shane Strausbaugh

Timothy Albert Sturm Jr.

Emily Anne Thornton

Katie Sue Thornton

Tyler Neil Thornton

Ty Cody Walgenbach

Sara E. Watson

Candice Elaine West

Emma Marie Westerman

James Trevor Winters

Daniel Robert Woitel

Heather Elizabeth Woods

Erika Valya Zumwalt

Valedictorians

Rebecca L. Kilfoyle

Rebecca L. Kilfoyle

Rebecca L. Kilfoyle, one of two Skyview valedictorians, is the daughter of Thomas J. Kilfoyle and Cosette Z. Kilfoyle and a resident of Kasilof. Through high school she has been involved in activities such as swimming, Battle of the Books, Mock Trial, National Honor Society and school and community musical ensembles. She will attend St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., this fall with a major in chemistry.

Rachel Osterman

Rachel Osterman

Rachel Osterman has been involved in Skyview’s student council, as well as the other academic clubs. She plans to attend Montana State University in Bozeman this fall to study animal science. “My high school career has been chiefly an academic one, full of glory and also heartbreak; a typical high school experience. Special thanks to my family and community for their continual support,” she said.